This invention relates generally to gas turbines, and more particularly, to combustor dome mixer retainers used with turbine engines.
At least some known gas turbine engines use a lean dome combustor that includes a center mixer assembly that is formed integrally with a fuel nozzle and a dome-mounted mixer assembly that forms a portion of a dome assembly. As a result, at least some known dome mixer assemblies are large and may be difficult to retain using only the dome.
Known methods of assembling such combustors generally includes retaining or rigidly coupling mixers to the dome via welding or brazing. The inner and outer cowls may be formed with retaining means that are used to maintain the mixers in position. Incorporating the retaining means requires providing enough material for both the retaining means and the cowl. For example, forging weights of inner and outer cowls may be 55 pounds and 135 pounds, respectively. However, final machined inner and outer cowl weights may be 1.6 pounds and 5.7 pounds, respectively, such that 183 pounds of material waste is generated per engine.
Consequently, combustors assembled using known fabrication methods use retaining means that require additional material and labor resulting in increased maintenance and manufacturing costs.